WHEN WESTERN nations started boycotting Russian oil in 2022, India noticed a possibility. Some 2.6m barrels a day (b/d) of crude as soon as destined for Europe have been out there—at a candy low cost. India, which purchased subsequent to no oil from Russia in 2021, pounced. It has remained Russia’s largest buyer ever since. In the present day it imports practically 2m b/d of Russian “bitter”, heavy crude, representing 35-40% of its crude imports. The availability reduces India’s import invoice at a time when the world’s fastest-growing large financial system burns ever extra petroleum. Native refiners make a killing by processing the stuff into fuels that they then export at full value.
